The bigger the company gets, the brighter the spotlight — both for good and bad — that shines on it.

That’s become a fact of life for the natural foods grocer, which is flying higher than ever with more than 350 stores and posting record profits.

“In some ways, it’s a compliment to how people see our company,” said Whole Foods co-CEO Walter Robb. “I do think we’re a leader in the food industry, and people look to us in that respect. And so when we take a step or a make decision, it gets reported on.”

A handful of incidents in the past year have challenged the company — both in protecting its reputation and in deciding whether its existing policies might have to evolve.

This summer, the company faced fallout over allegations that it punished two Hispanic employees in New Mexico for objecting to a policy restricting the use of Spanish at work.

Robb and other company officials said the incident was a misunderstanding.

But Whole Foods revised its language guidelines after an outcry from activists.

The perception that Whole Foods is too expensive and caters to an affluent demographic also continues to be a challenge, said Andrew Wolf, an analyst with BB&T Capital Markets.

“That’s been their biggest hurdle,” he said. “And that remains. I mean, they’re not going to stop trying to create a better value image, because as they get bigger, they have to.”

The company has worked hard to improve its value and accessibility, Robb said.

“I welcome the question, because it gives us a chance to have a dialogue about this myth that if you eat healthy, it has to be expensive or that eating healthy is only for certain people,” he said. “That’s just bull.”